If I should die before I wake and other scary prayers...
One of the strangest prayers we are taught as children is one that puts fear into our little hearts.
Think about this prayer –
“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake…”
Wait what?
“Am I gonna die?
I don’t want to go to bed?
I want to watch TV. I need a glass of water. I need to go potty.”
Who wants to go to bed quietly with the thought that we could die before morning??
The prayer we actually should be praying is:
“…Lord, help me wake before I die.”
This is also scary.
The scary thought to me is - to live my life half asleep.
I want to live my life – awake to the important things in life.
I want to be aware of what is important to God.
This is a prayer we should probably pray daily.
Apostle Paul said,
“Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit… Ephesians 5:14-18 NIV
What scares me is that I could waste my ‘one and only life’ on things that seem important to me in the moment but (at the end of the day) they don’t really matter.
Jesus said…
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. Matthew 16:25-27 NIV
Have you wasted too much time missing moments right in front of you because you are focused on:
- Regretting the past
- Worrying about the future
- Thinking that you should be doing something else – we either think we should be working when we are relaxing and/or thinking we should be relaxing more when are working)
- Building dreams that are carnal and ‘lifeless’ and will not satisfy at the end of life
Lord – wake me up. Help me to see what you want me to see. Please don’t allow me to live my life ‘asleep’ to what is important. Fill me with your spirit so that I will value what you value. I want to be available to you every moment of the day.
Keep me alert to the needs of those around me. Help me recognize the importance of people in my world and cause me to live for what is important to you.
May I wake before I die. Amen.
